Our History

​The M.E. Franklin House (aka Franklin Castle), was constructed during a four-year period from 1927-1931. Mr. Franklin was an Industrial Arts professor at Northeast State College and his students constructed the home under his supervision.

The home is two stories high with a visible basement. At each corner is a two-story crenelated tower, with the largest one of the northeast corner containing the main entrance. Originally, the roof had red ceramic tiles, but the tiles have been replaced by red asphalt tiles. The walls are unlike any other you'll see. They were constructed by shoving small random native sandstones sideways into the wet concrete (with an area at the base of the first floor having the stones set flat). The stones were placed close together so that the mortar is not readily visible. The windows are 8-pane casement windows.

In 1963, when the college extended College Avenue, a retaining wall and sidewalk were constructed alongside the house, which effectively cut off access to the one-car under-house garage at the northeast corner. This garage area was converted into basement living space.

When arriving at this property, we had the pleasant surprise of being invited in to see the interior. The current resident is in the process of remodeling the home, but we noted all the original features. Each of the towers is a small round room, and the interior contains the original fireplace, furnace, and coal chute.

This property was placed on the National Register in 2006 and is a treasure to the citizens of Tahlequah.